Tag Archive

With magic mushroom season approaching, I thought it might be nice to talk about their history, and what they do. As much as describing mushrooms, is like describing travel! Ancient evidence suggests that shamanic use of magic mushrooms stretches back far into our history, how far no one knows. The mushrooms were used extensively across ancient Mesoamerica, especially in the Aztec culture – which it must be said, was very driven by psychedelic thinking. There are hints of their use in other places, such as the symbolism and language surrounding NZ’s Weraroa mushroom. The suppression of the fungi’s use by the Spanish, calling it a means of summoning evil spirits, pre-dates the beginning of prohibition, much like the taboo surrounding the use of Kava in missionary settled pacific communities. Indeed, this cultural oppression, and xenophobia, manifests much like the reefer madness did – as a in-group, out-group intolerance – and perhaps that is the true origin of prohibition. Before I get into what is happening to your brain, and what the potential positive sides are regarding those effects- let me describe briefly what … Read More

It’s one thing to say that psychedelic mushrooms “open your mind,” but it’s another entirely to demonstrate its dream-like effects in a scientific study. Yet, that’s what one group of researchers appear to have achieved in a study published today in Human Brain Mapping. In the experiment, researchers injected a dose of psilocybin — the chemical that gives “shrooms” their kick — into a group of 15 participants, reports The Washington Post. Another group, the control, didn’t receive the drug. Then, using brain imaging technology, the researchers looked at the areas of the brain that were activated in both groups. This allowed them to determine that psilocybin increased the volume of activity in regions of the brain that are usually activated when we dream, during sleep. It also increased brain function in regions that are associated with emotion and memory. According to the researchers, these effects are akin to what we experience when we dream. Read more http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/3/5869465/scientists-figured-out-how-shrooms-open-your-mind

Ketamine, the horse tranquilizer which is also a popular party drug, could be used to treat people who have been suffering from long term depression, according a study. Researchers at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford said they noticed a “remarkable” change in people suffering treatment-resistant depression once they were given the drug, which has recently been upgraded to Class B. The study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, involved giving 28 patients either three or six intravenous infusions of 5mg/kg of ketamine, each lasting 40 minutes. The study showed after the final infusion, eight had responded to the positively treatment, four of whom improved so much they were classed as being in remission from depression. Those who had shown improvements felt the benefits of the drug for between 25 days and eight months. The scientists said with further trials in monitored situations, ketamine could one day be considered a valid treatment for severe depression. Keep reading http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ketamine-lsd-magic-mushrooms-ecstasy-illegal-drugs-which-can-be-good-you-1443253